"If a judge's misconduct is sufficient to cause him to be suspended from the bench by the 5th Circuit, then I think Congress has a reason to look into that," said Judiciary Committee member U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.

Sensenbrenner, an influential advocate of judicial reform, was a key player in the most recent impeachment proceedings of a federal judge in 1989.

The Judicial Council of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals formally reprimanded Kent on Friday after a four-month secret judicial investigation into charges of "sexual harassment" and "inappropriate behavior" toward court employees.

The judges did not elaborate on Kent's behavior. But he was accused of inappropriately touching one of his employees, Cathy McBroom, and sexually harassing her and other female employees for years, based on interviews with family members, friends and her attorney. The Houston Chronicle has interviewed two former employees who say the episodes of harassment began about a decade ago.

McBroom's attorney, Rusty Hardin, a former Harris County prosecutor, declined to provide specifics but said he believed the judge's behavior was "criminal" in the most recent incident during which the judge inappropriately touched Mc- Broom in his chambers last March. Afterward, others saw her flee, crying and distraught.

"This is simply a totally unsatisfactory outcome for what was clearly criminal conduct by a sitting federal judge," Hardin said.

Given the seriousness of the allegations, the Chronicle formally requested that the 5th Circuit Judicial Council release more information about the case.

Court's stance criticized

On Tuesday, Chief Judge
Edith Jones
, through a spokesman, responded that federal law prohibited any further disclosure. The statute "plainly precludes a release of further information or a discussion of the details of the investigation of the kind you seek to initiate," wrote
Joseph St. Amant
, 5th Circuit spokesman in an e-mail.

Sensenbrenner criticized that stand.

"The findings of the judges that made that determination should be made public," Sensenbrenner said, including any supporting documents and transcripts.

The National Organization for Women said Tuesday that it plans to formally request that the House Judiciary Committee determine whether Kent should be impeached.

"If these allegations are true, this man should not be on the bench and should not be making decisions about women's lives," NOW President Kim Gandy said,

Tom Fitton, the president of the Washington D.C.-based policy and research organization Judicial Watch, said he thought the reprimand alone should prompt further congressional investigation.

"Reprimands of this sort are extraordinary if not virtually unprecedented," he said.

A commission headed by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer recommended in September last year that judicial investigations be made more transparent. But those recommendations remain unapproved drafts.

'I'll scratch your back'

Sensenbrenner said the investigations into judicial conduct should be conducted by judges from a different circuit.

"There is a great desire that if you scratch my back, I'll scratch your back" among judges in the same circuit, he said.

In 1989, Sensenbrenner was a co-manager of impeachment proceedings against U.S. District Judge Walter L. Nixon and in 1998 the impeachment of President Clinton.

Ultimately, the decision to investigate rests with Judiciary Committee Chairman John Con- yers Jr., D-Mich., who could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, the only Texan from either party on the Judiciary Committee's subcommittee that oversees the courts, said she was willing to meet with NOW and supported an investigation if a complaint was brought to the committee.

Another member of the House Judiciary Committee told the Chronicle he would "like to know the severity of the violation" before making a decision.

"The reprimand, in and of itself, I don't think would justify it," said Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee that oversees the court.

Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said he is unable to launch a criminal investigation unless he receives a complaint. Even then, Sistrunk said he would need to determine whether he has jurisdiction over the Galveston federal courthouse, which is U.S. government property.